Bruce Pearl once brought Tennessee fans to their feet while raising the volume at Thompson-Boling Arena. He sent many of them home early and quietly Tuesday night.

Along the way, the former UT basketball coach posted one of the biggest wins in his four seasons at Auburn. He also claimed his first road victory over a program he once led to six consecutive NCAA tournaments.

But winning 94-84 on a floor where he won so often from 2005 through 2011 had little to do with Pearl's excitement.

"I’m celebrating because we got a road win against a nationally ranked team and (for an) Auburn team that hadn’t been very good for awhile," he said.

The Tigers won their 11th consecutive game and upped their record to 13-1 with the upset victory in their SEC season opener against the 22nd-ranked Vols, who dropped to 9-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference with Kentucky coming to town Saturday night.

"I’m not sure I can say anything good about anybody," he said. "It’s a team game. When you don’t play like it means something to you, it’s disappointing."

Tennessee’s overtime loss to Arkansas last Saturday was tough. But this was tougher.

And given how well the Vols have performed for so much of the season against a demanding schedule, it was unexpected. The series history made the outcome that much more surprising.

Tennessee began the evening with a 48-7 home-court advantage against Auburn. Nothing in the early going hinted this game would stray far from the series course.

Tennessee seemingly was in a hurry to put an overtime loss to Arkansas behind it, and Auburn cooperated beautifully.

The Tigers shot on a whim and poorly, didn’t take defense too seriously and fell behind 28-14. Translation: the game was going just like the series.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes wasn't impressed, though.

"It was all fool's gold," he said of the favorable beginning. "We started the game not guarding the way we wanted to. Then, we started turning the ball overall.

"We’re not there as a team. Just too immature."

The game turned topsy-turvy late in the first half. Tennessee lost its edge while Auburn apparently remembered why it had won 12 of its first 13 games: rebounding.

Never mind the Tigers’ lack of size. They looked bigger when the ball came off the glass. They looked bigger in the stats, too.

Auburn has been outrebounded only once this season. And it played up to its reputation in forging a six-point halftime lead, achieved mainly through dominant rebounding. The Tigers outrebounded UT 13-3 at the offensive end while taking 20 more first-half shots than the Vols.

"They shoot the 3s and they run them down well," Barnes said. "They're bouncy. They're active. They make the effort. We should have two or three guys doing that."

Tennessee's managed to neutralize Auburn's offensive rebounding early in the second half in taking a five-point lead. Then, just like in the first half, the game changed drastically.

After missing nine consecutive 3s, Auburn hit three in a row, including two following offensive rebounds. Its second-half surge came with point guard Harper on the bench with an apparent leg cramp.

However, the Vols looked more fatigued overall. And as Auburn improved its lead to 12 points, it became obvious Tennessee didn't have a finishing kick in it.

But even before Auburn pushed its lead to double digits, Tennessee fans headed for the exits, probably wondering how a game and a season that started out so well had taken such a bad turn.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/johnadamskns.